You know that building with all the books in it, some might refer to this mystical place as the library, it may seem obsolete with the invention of the internet, but that’s just not true. There are lots of helpful things in the library, not the least of which is your library reference section.
There’s a reason I spent half of my office hours in the reference section of our library at Berea. Students need to get comfortable with the resources available to them, and the reference section is an excellent place to do that. In most libraries there are reference areas that include a reference desk. At the reference desk you’ll find people who are trained at doing things like researching and navigating the resources available in their library. These people are referred to as reference librarians, and they’re great!
Tip for asking questions at the reference desk: when you approach a reference librarian to help you find resources for a project or paper, make sure that your request is specific. For instance, if you’re writing an essay on high schools in the United States, you do not just want to ask for all the material on American high schools. You’ll waste your time searching through hundreds of books for slivers on information that may or may not be helpful as you continue writing your paper. Try telling the librarian a little bit about your paper, perhaps summarize your thesis, because this will help them direct your search.
Writing TA/Peer Leader 